The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Edo State office, has called on young female voters to be ambassadors of the commission ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the State.
The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, made the call in Benin at a one-day awareness campaign for young female voters to actively participate in the election.
Onuoha said as ambassadors of the commission, they were critical stakeholders who should sensitise their peers, parents and acquittance to shun violence and not engage in vote buying or selling.
He also urged them to sensitise the electorate on the need to vote for a candidate that they thought could bring development to the State.
“All of you are young girls and my advice to you is that your conscience should always be alive. If you sell your votes, you sell your future.
“Let us have an election that we will call our own. Election that will emanate from the collective will of the people.
“Let us have an election that is free and people will adjudge that, indeed, the election was free and fair.
“Even though the losers will always complain, let the majority of the people say this election was free and fair”, he said.
According to him, as you go to your various destinations, please, be an ambassador of INEC, take this message to every nooks and crannies of this State.
“That, this upcoming election, there should be no vote buying, and that nobody should use money to buy people’s conscience”, he added.
Onuoha, however, assured that INEC would conduct the election in line with the mission and vision of its mandate to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
Earlier, Victoria Eta-Messi, Director, Gender Relations, INEC said statistics showed that more males voted in the 2023 general election than the females.
She noted that young female voters were often marginalised in the political sphere due to restrictive laws, institutional barriers and discriminatory cultural practices.
According to her, this awareness campaign was part of effort to ensure that they understood their rights and the power of their votes.

The Caretaker Committee (CTC) Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Council, Rt. Hon. Enyiada Cookey-Gam, has reaffirmed his dedication to the welfare and academic success of students from the area.
He made the promise during a courtesy visit by the Executives of the National Union of Opobo Students (NUOS) at his Port Harcourt residence.
Hon. Cookey-Gam, who emphasised his commitment to annual bursary payments, with the next round expected in 2025, clarified that bursary payments are an annual exercise, saying the last disbursement was in January 2024.
He disclosed plans to upgrade the student union secretariat, with the council’s engineer, Dandeson Diri, set to collaborate on the project.
The chairman directed the NUOS President to nominate a graduate for the position of Special Assistant on Student Affairs, while also pledging to consider the union’s request for an 18-seater bus to aid students’ transportation.
The NUOS National President, Comrade Noah Brown, along with other student leaders, expressed their gratitude and noted the significance of these initiatives to students’ welfare.
Also, the NUOS Senate President, Comrade Felix Toby, urged for continued efforts to ensure student needs are met, stressing that financial challenges should not hinder education.
Chief of Staff and IYC students representative, Comrade Clifford Oko Jaja, on his part, commended the students for their dedication and representation of the LGA in various campuses.
He noted that Hon. Cookey-Gam’s “ongoing support underscores his commitment to the educational advancement and overall wellbeing of Opobo/Nkoro students”.

Theresa Frederick & Charity Amiso

The Cross River State Government has urged residents of the State not to participate in the planned August 1 nationwide protest.
The State’s Commissioner for Information, Dr. Erasmus Ekpang, who made the call in a statement in Calabar, said although Nigerians were passing through a difficult moment, government at all levels was showing enormous commitment to the wellbeing of the citizenry.
He said it was not in the interest of the nation to resort to protest, saying, “remember how the EndSARS protest led to needless destructions.
“The state government will not hesitate to take decisive actions against anyone or group who threatens the prevailing peace in the State’.
The commissioner said the government had implemented several intervention programmes as part of its commitment to the wellbeing of the people.
He stated that about 117, 802 poor and vulnerable households had benefited from the series of interventions by the government.
“We are not unaware of the inflation and the high cost of goods and services. We are aware of these challenges and their effects on the people.
“The Senator Bassey Otu-led government has initiated programmes aimed at improving the quality of life in the State”, he said.
Ekpang noted that under the Cash Transfer programme, the State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs had disbursed about N1.3 billion to beneficiaries across the State.
“Under the Small and Medium Enterprises, NG-CARES had disbursed grants ranging between N100,000 and N400,000 to 2,136 enterprises in the State”, he said.
The commissioner further said inputs had been donated to 73,634 poultry, piggery, rice, aquaculture and cassava farmers among others, under the FADAMA programme.
“Under the recently launched Livelihood Grant Programme, about 4,000 poor and vulnerable individuals have received between N50,000 and N200,000 each while “20,898 poor and vulnerable youths were enrolled and paid sux months stipends amounting to N1.3 billion under the Labour Intensive Public Works programme”, he said.
According to him, about 100 canoes and fishing boats were built and distributed to youths in riverine communities.
Ekpang also said additionally, the Otu-led government had spent N440 million to register 16,301 residents of the state to sit for the West African School Certificate Examination.
“You can see that government is not resting in its oars, we have done all these to cushion the effects of the current economic challenges”, he said.
It would be recalled that there are reports of planned anti-government protest scheduled to hold between August 1 and 10 across the country.